What is a drug and alcohol screening?
Drug and alcohol testing helps identify alcohol and both prescription and illegal drugs in an individual’s body. Drug and alcohol testing is a common practice for employers for pre-employment, as well as random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, return-to-duty, follow-up drug testing, etc. Drug and alcohol testing can be conducted through a variety of testing methodologies, including oral-fluid, urinalysis, and hair, each offering a different window of detection which is especially beneficial when combined with two or more testing methodologies.
Do different testing policies for different clients have different saturation levels as a threshold for positive vs. negative tests?
YES - All drug testing policies have a testing “panel.” Testing panels consist of substances and level thresholds (limit of detection). DISA offers policies with customized panels, in addition to policies that require standard/regulated panels. (Please note, all DOT and some safety-sensitive, non-DOT drug testing programs have mandatory testing panels)
Is alcohol detected in urine drug test?
Depending on industry requirements, employers can choose to screen for alcohol in their drug testing panel. Alcohol use can be detected in a urinalysis between 12-48 hours after consuming.
If an employee informs the employer that they are using a CBD product, what is the employers responsibility if that employee is in a safety-sensitive position?
The employer’s responsibility is to explain that there is no exception (under DOT regulations) for the use of any product that presents as THC metabolites and exceeds set thresholds on a DOT drug screen. If it is non-DOT, they should refer to the company policy. If the policy accepts CBD oil, then that should be communicated.